“If you abide in my word, you are truly my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John
8:31-32, ESV)
“Don’t let the false
narratives keep you at their mercy. The
story you are telling yourself is rarely the story that’s actually true.” That was the message from my time with Jesus
this morning.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately
about false narratives, those I live by and those that I allow to hold me
captive. The lies I’ve bought into about
myself, my world, and even my God, that make me the absolute worst version of
myself. They make me fearful and anxious
and insecure. They make me busy and
driven and manipulative. They call me to
acquire and compare and compete. They
tell me I need to earn and achieve and perform, all in hopes of convincing
myself and my world that I am actually worthy of being loved. And until I realize that I am already loved,
and therefore of infinite value and worth, I will never really be able to love
anyone else. I will be too busy trying
to extort and manipulate love out of them.
I don't know what your false narratives tell you, but mine tell me I am not enough—not talented enough, not gifted enough, not
skilled enough, not smart enough, not attractive enough, etc. And they tell me I suck: I suck as a writer, I suck as a
worker, I suck as a son, I suck as a husband, I suck as a dad, I suck as a
friend, I suck as a man, I suck as an everything.
When I am believing these lies, they cause
me to interpret everything in light them--which is actually oh so dark. In turn, this causes me to create narratives for others that do not exist and assign motives that are simply not true, which just reinforces the lies I believe about myself and my world, only making them stronger. It is a downward spiral that is impossible to pull out of unless Jesus--the way the truth and the life--intervenes. When I let these voices
control and consume me, my neediness
and fear and insecurity rule the day. It’s
astounding, and more than a little baffling, that I give these voices the free rein
that I do.
Then Jesus comes along
and tells me the truth: “You are seen, you are known, and you are deeply loved. You are of infinite value and worth and do
not have to do anything to prove it. You
don’t have to do anything to justify your existence. You don’t need others to give you your value
and your identity because I have already done that. Let my love be the basis and foundation for
everything you do. Don’t let the false
narratives hold you hostage, I came to tell you the truth. Abide in my word and you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free. For if
you are not free, it means that you are believing something that is not true. So stop listening to the lies and start
believing the truth.”
Lord Jesus, save me from
myself. Let your love and your grace and
your truth define and determine me. Free
me from the lies I believe about you, about myself, and about others, and help me to constantly abide in your truth. Amen.